First came the Champions League defeat to Sevilla that stung Jose Mourinho and then came the passionate defence of his achievements that it provoked, but this was not the sort of victory that was ever going to do anything to improve his mood.
Having kept his facial expressions hidden on the touchline during the game with a snood that covered half his face, as United made tough work of knocking Brighton out of the FA Cup, Mourinho did not try to mask his thoughts after it.
Even after his name had been sung by United supporters throughout, Mourinho went on the attack, criticising the quality of the performance, as well as the mentality of his players.
He knows he is taking a risk doing so, calling out players in public always takes you on to uncertain ground, but the Portuguese seems determined to challenge them. He is testing them, probing for a response, poking and prodding egos, watching for the reaction.
This was another insipid, timid display. They may be in the semi-final, their third in less than two years under him, but United will not win either that or the final playing like this. So, Mourinho did not mince his words.
Manchester United progressed to the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday night.
A headed goal in each half — the first from Romelu Lukaku and then another by Nemanja Matic — saw the Red Devils see off a plucky Brighton side.
United were far from at their best but they got the job done. Revisit how they scraped through with Sportsmail's blow-by-blow updates.
If you are viewing this on our mobile app, click HERE.
What term do you want to search? Search with google
